Like all native white-coated cattle the Piedmont cattle is a very ancient breed. But the most interesting piece of history of the Piedmont cattle begins in 1886. In that year and in the small town of Guarene d’Alba, in the province of Cuneo, for the first time, from a spontaneous change, a bull was born with an enormous buttocks and very muscular thighs. Known as “groppa di cavallo” (horse rump) or ” groppa doppia” (double rump), he is the forefather of our “vitelli della coscia” (thick thighed veal). In a historic turning point: this breed was suitable for meat, for milk (especially in the mountains) and for work, from that moment the people of Piedmont started their future careers as meat producers.
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were 680 000 heads of cattle; in 1973 the Piedmont cattle breed was third among the most common breeds in Italy and the first of the autochthonous breeds, and even in 1985, there were over 600 000 animals. However, just ten years was enough time for their numbers to halve. In 2000 there were about 300 000 animals, distributed in small family-run stables, absolutely unable to withstand the competition of large industrial farms. Yet the Piedmont cattle breed’s meat is exceptional, one of the best in Italy, unique, with the right intramuscular fat content that makes it lean, but particularly tasty, and with an extremely low level of cholesterol.
To put it to the test, there is a simple dish, which unsurprisingly belongs only to Piedmont tradition: raw meat beaten with a knife (seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt and very little pepper). The other classic dish is mixed boiled meat, which is dipped as small bites in salt and Bagnet (the green sauce, made with parsley, anchovies and garlic, the red one, made with pears cooked in grape must, saossa d’avije, a sauce made with honey, walnuts and mustard, and horseradish sauce). Veal is usually the meat that is chosen, but also castrated bulls, ox’s and cows are used.
Season
The product is available throughout the year.
Part of the breeders involved in the Presidium produce hays and the cereals grown all in the same field, which are necessary for their cattle, they naturally fertilise their soils and enrich them with mycorrhizal bacteria, fungi and minerals that contribute to conserving and improving microbial biodiversity and therefore the fertility of the soils. To produce quality meat, the environmental quality of the land on which cereals and hays are grown is crucial. A soil that is full of life and rich in microbial biodiversity, is a soil that is able to generate quality nourishment for animals and therefore well-being.
In the Presidium farms, calves are weaned, leaving them next to their mothers (cow-calf line), further improving animal welfare and respecting natural growth rates.
The commitment of the breeders, associated with the extraordinary genetic characteristics of the Piedmont cattle breed, has produced a meat of the highest quality and has helped to create a solid local economy that has convinced many young breeders to continue the work of their parents, stopping an exodus that twenty years ago seemed inevitable, even in the rich countryside of the Cuneo plain.
Production area
Piedmont region
Genola (Cn)
Via Garetta, 8 A
tel. +39 0172 726178
info@lagranda.it
www.lagranda.it
The La Granda association counts on the work of 62 breeders in the provinces of Cuneo and Turin.
The members are:
Allemano Luigi e Armando di Saluzzo; Ambrogio Ermanno di Tarantasca; Arnaudo Giorgio di Demonte; Ballario Roberto di Cavour; Banchio Michele di Savigliano; Battisti Andrea di Moretta; Beltramo Modesto di Villafalletto; Bergese-La Corte di Monasterolo di Savigliano; Bertaina Pierpaolo di Centallo; Bertaina Sergio di Villafalletto; Bertone Marino e Piermario di Mondovì; Bessone Romano di Macello Torinese; Bima Bruno di Villafalletto; Bima Elio di Villafalletto; Bima Lino di Busca; Busso Marco - La Maddalena di Cavour; Carena Piero e Angelo di Scarnafigi; Chialvo Clementina di San Benigno; Cometto Alessandro di Maddalene; Cravero Dario - ‘L Paladin di Villafalletto; Cravero Eraldo di Villafalletto; Dardanello Pasqualina di Rocca de' Baldi; Del Soglio Renato di Fossano; Dogliani Valter di Rocca De Baldi; Dotta Pier Domenico di Villafalletto; Dotto Aldo - Fattoria Italia di Castelletto Stura; Fratelli Giachino di Roddi; Fratelli Gullino di Savigliano; Fratelli Panero di San Pietro del Gallo; Fratelli Pellegrino di Spinetta; Fratelli Vittone di Poirino; Galliano Roberto di Busca; Garabello Maria Rita di Marsaglia; Giobergia Aldo e Mario di Loreto; Giordano Ivano e Sergio di Gerbo; Gramaglia Domenico di Saluzzo; Ingaramo - La Gorra di Savigliano; Isaia Carlo di San Pietro del Gallo; La Grangia di Carmagnola; Luciano Valter di Villar San Costanzo; Maia Federico di Lesegno; Marengo Federico di Cherasco; Migliore Andrea di Caraglio; Molineris Cristian e Gianluca di Gerbo; Olivero Mauro di Genola; Olivero Silvano di Genola; Paoletti Giovanni di Tarantasca; Pistone Albino e Francesco di Cavallermaggiore; Ponso Giovanni e Roberto di Monasterolo Savigliano; Prato Giovanni di Fossano; Rebuffo e Rema di I Ronchi di Cuneo; Regaldo Piercarlo di Leinì; Rinaudo Raffaele di Costigliole Saluzzo; Roccia Silvio di Fossano; Sampò Giuseppe di Ceriolo; Santinelli Angelo di Bergamo; Solavaggione - La Piemunteisa di Savigliano; Tassone Maurizio di Sant’Albano Stura; Tortalla Raffaele di S.Antonio Baligio; Tortone Domenico di San Martino; Trinello Fabio di Ceva; Vinai Francesco di Ceva.
Buy the Presidium meat in the butchery
Macelleria Teatro Della Carne
Via Garetta 8/B
Genola (Cn)
Tel. 0172 68706
Eataly Shops
https://www.eataly.net/it_it/negozi/
Butcheries:
Macelleria Marco Alliano
Rivera di Almese (To)
Piazza Comba, 28
tel. 011 9369871
Macelleria salumeria Marco Artusio
Rivoli (To)
Via Rombò, 29/c
tel.011 9586562
Macelleria Giuseppe Maioglio
Brandizzo (To)
Via Torino, 148
tel. 011 9139236
Massimo Zivieri
Monzuno (Bo)
Piazza XXIV Maggio, 9/C
tel. 051 6771533
Mauro Olivero
Tel. +39 333 8949421
mauro.oli@tiscali.it
Slow Food Presidium Coordinator
Sergio Capaldo
Tel. +39 335 6770566
sergio.capaldo@lagranda.it
